Electrical connector



April 21 1964 c. K. BROWN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNOV. 14, 1960 l'lllllllli 'I I I I: II

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ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Nov. 14, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 llllllzllllINV EN TOR. CLARENCE K. BROWN 781m 1, so Arrag/vsys.

MNRYM United States Patent 3,129,995 ELECTRRAL CONNECTOR Clarence K.Brown, Belltlower, Calif., assignor to Hi- Shear Corporation, Torrance,Calif., a corporation of California 7 Filed Nov. 14, 19611, Ser. No.68,903

18 Claims. (Cl. ass-s7 I This invention relates to a connector formaking connective engagement with insulated electrical conductors.

A well-known type of electrical conduit comprises a fiat conductivemetal strip, usually copper, enclosed by an insulating cover. The mostfamiliar member of this class includes a plurality of parallel copperstrips sandwiched between two sheets of plastic. This assembly lookslike, and is called a tape. It is an object of this invention toprovidemeans for making circuit and terminal connections to individual ones ofthe metallic strips.

A connector accordingto this invention includes a pair of metallic gridplates, each of which has a plurality of parallel striations in one ofits faces. These striations are formed as troughs having boundingshoulders, adjacent shoulders of adjacent troughs being interconnectedby a crest. The striated faces of the grids face each other with theircrests criss-crossed, and sandwich between them that portion of the tapewhich incloses the conductive connection.

The plates are forced together so that the crests displace theinsulating coverat the points where the crisscrossed crests intersect.Pressure of the grid plates on the metal strip causes cold-weldingbetween the crests and the metallic strip, thereby forming a goodconductive contact at the said points. I

According to a preferred but optional feature of the invention, adeformable sleeve surrounds the grid plates and that portion of the tapeto which the grid plates are to be attached, whereby pressure applied tothe sleeve deforms the same and presses the crests into contact with themetallic strip. The sleeve thereafter serves to hold the plates incontact with the metallic strip. 7

According to still another preferred but optional feature of theinvention, the crests are formed convexly curved. I y i According tostill another preferred but optional feature of the invention, theconnector includes a terminal block which has a cavity for receiving theaforesaid sleeve and grids, a passage to the cavity for the tape to passthrough, and an opening into said cavity to receive a tool for deformingthe sleeve. Force exerted on the sleeve through the opening deformsthesleeve as above described, and the terminal block thereby holds theelectrically connected conductor in place.

The aboveand other features of this invention willbe fully understoodfrom the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view showing the presently-preferredembodiment of theinvention; A

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the assembled embodiment of FIG. 1 beforemaking the conductive contact;

FIG. 3 is a showing of the device ofFTG. 2 in its assembled condition; Ip

FIG. 4 is a plan view of one part of the connector with portions ofanother part projected thereon;

FIG. 5 is an exploded isometric view of another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail cross-section showing the connecting actionof the'presently-preferred embodiment of the invention;

I FIG. 7 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a terminal block for use with theconnector;

r 3,129,995 Patented Apr. 21, 1964 "ice FIG. 9 is a bottom view of FIG.8; I FIG. 10 is a side view taken at line 10-10 of FIG. 9; FIGS. 11 and12 are cross-sections taken at lines 11-11 and 12-12 of FIG. 10,respectively;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are side viewstaken at lines 13-13 and 14-14 of FIG. 12,respectively;

FIG. 15 is an inverted cross-section taken at line 15-15 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 16 is a cross-section taken at line 16-16 of FIG. 12; i V

IG. 17 is a cross-section taken at line 17-17 of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a cross-section taken at line 18-18 of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of an intermediate step in the manufacture of amodification of the invention;

FIG. 20 is an end view taken at line 29-20 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is an end view taken at line 22 22 of FIG.

21; and

FIG. 23 is a cross-section view of the embodiment of FIG. 21 in its setconfiguration.

The presently-preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1.The objectof the invention is to make a conductive connection withtape20. It will be understood that tape 20 may either be a single-conductortape, or that it may be part of a multiple tape conductor, as preferred.Furthermore, although this invention is principally intended for usewith this type of tape, this is not a limitation on the generality ofthe invention. Its use extendsto insulated conductors in general. Tape20 includes a flat metallic strip 21, usually copper, sandwiched betweenlayers 22, 23 of insulating material, such as polyethylene. The stripsare connected to circuit boards and the like, as desired. Suchconnections have hitherto been very ditlicult to make. It is an objectof this invention to provide means for forming terminal connections tosaid metallic strip in an efficacious and convenient manner.

The connector includes a sleeve 24 which may conveniently have a squareor rectangular cross-section. The sleeve is deformable, preferably beingmade of copper or copper alloy. Two grid plates 25, 26 are adapted to befitted within the outer sleeve, leavingaspacing between them foraccommodating the end of tape 20 (see FIG. 2). A tail 27 is formed ongrid 26 to act as a terminal, to which other circuits can be connected.The shape of the tail is a matter of choice. I I l The details of gridplate 25 are shown in FIG. 4. One face 311 of this plate is striated,and as shown in FIG. 4, there are striations 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, and37. These striations are allparallel and are formed as troughs in face3th. I The striations are all bounded by shoulders; for exam ple,striations 33 and 34 are bounded by shoulders 38, 39, and li), 41,respectively. Striations 33 and 34 have their adjacent shouldersconnected by a crest 42. This construction is common to all of theadjacent striations so that there are formed on the face of the platecrests 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, thesecrests are preferably convexly curved.

Grid plate 26 also has a plurality of striations. The pattern of thestriations may be identical, in which case theadjacent faces of the twogrid plates would look exactly alike, or the striations could be fartherapart and fewer on grid plate 26 than on grid plate 25.

formed twelve points of intersection exemplified by point A wherecriss-crossed crests 45 and 51 intersect each other. All of the crestsof each plate lie in a common plane.

It is at these intersecting points that the grid plates will press inand cold-weld with the metallic strip. The pitch, that is, the distancebetween crests of the two plates, will be selected having in mind thenumber of points of cold-welding desired. In FIG. 4, there are morecrests per inch on plate 25 than there are on plate 26, that is, thespacing between crests on plate 26 is greater than the spacing betweencrests on plate 25. The crests on both plates shown in FIG. 4 make anangle of about 20 with a reference line B in FIG. 4, and thus intersectwith each other at an angle of 40. This angle is also a matter ofchoice. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the troughs are desirable in orderto give the portions of the tape which are not located at the points ofintersection some place to move to when the points are brought closertogether than the thickness of the tape. As can be seen in FIG. 6, theseother portions simply move into the troughs. Thus, the spacing apart ofthe points of intersection, as determined by the relative spacings ofthe crests, and the angle selected, will be such that there will besufficient undisturbed portions of tape between the grids that the tapewill not be cut in two by the crests. Also, it is preferable thatneither of the crests lie normal to the axis of the tape, but insteadlie at an angle to it. Then the points of intersection are staggered andthere is less risk of breaking or cutting the tape.

FIG. illustrates another embodiment of the invention wherein an outersleeve 60* made of deformable material has a grid plate '61 identical togrid plate 25 integral therewith. A loose grid plate 62, identical togrid plate 26, can be fitted within the outer sleeve. The end of tape 63is placed between the two grid plates.

Terminal block 70, which is particularly suitable for use with theconnector according to the invention, is shown in FIGS. 818. This blockincludes a pair of plates 71, 72. adapted to be joined by fastenerspassed through aligned holes 73, 74- through the two plates.

Plate 71 has three openings 75, 76, 77 through which a clinching toolcan be applied to connectors disposed between the two plates. Plate 72has four similar openings 78, 79', 80, 81.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, plate 71 has three recesses 82,83, 84 in its inside face, while plate 72 has four similar recesses 85,86, 87, 88. Recesses 32 M, are spaced apart, and are bounded byabutments 89, 90, 91, 92 on the inner face of plate 71. Similarabutments 93, 94, 95 in plate 72 are placed between recesses 85 83. Therecesses are staggered, so that an abutment partially closes eachrecess. Connectors 96- 162 are respectively fitted in recesses 82-88.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, the recesses have passages103-169 through one side of the block for passing end portions of tape110, and passages 111- 117 through the block and at the other side forpassing conductive terminal tails 118. The passages are smaller incross-section than the recesses so that the connectors are held withinthe recesses.

Connector 96 is like all of the other connectors and will be describedin detail as a single example. It includes a deformable sleeve 119, anda pair of grid plates 120, 121. The sleeve and grid plates are likethose described in either FIG. 1 or FIG. 5.

The terminal tails may be attached to grid plates 121 as best shown inFIG. 17, or if preferred may be made integral with the various sleeves.

FIGS. 19-23 illustrate another embodiment of the invention wherein aconnector 150 made of the same material as the sleeve of FIG. 5,includes an eyelet portion 151 for use as a terminal, and a sleeveportion 152 which in its intermediate configuration includes a round,threadtapped hole 153 with internal threads 154.

The connector is formed by squaring up the tubular portion as shown inFIGS. 21 and 2.2, by placing it in a forming tool. This, of course,straightens out the threads 156, 157 in faces 158, 159 (which aresensibly planar). These faces are equivalent to the grid plates in theprevious embodiments, and threads 1%, 157 are equivalent to thestriations.

The technique of utilizing the terminal block should be evident from thedrawings. The device is assembled with the sleeves undeformed, and theends of the tape are passed through passages 1034M and placed betweenthe grids. Then a clinching tool is applied to the side portion of oneof the plates and, through respective openings connected with therecesses, to a sleeve to apply crimping force on the sleeve to deform itand press the grid plates into contact with the tape, as in theembodiments of FIGS. 1 and 5. The clinching tool is then removed and theterminal block is ready for use by connecting a circuit to the variousterminal tails, as desired. It will be noted that it is also possible toattach terminal connections to the deformable sleeve through therespective openings.

With respect to the material of the grid plates, it is desirable to havethe crests of the grid plates where contact is made with the metallicstrip of a soft, highly conductive material, which will readilycold-weld with the metallic strip. The entire grid plate could be madeof such a material, although ordinarily such soft material will not givethe best structural characteristics. This is because it is desired tobuild up high pressure at the localized areas, such as point A, wherecold-welding is to occur, and often these soft materials will notwithstand high pressures without excessive deformation. Therefore, thepreferred construction is shown in FIG. 2 wherein substantially theentire base plate is made of a fairly hard conductive material, such asberyllium-copper alloy, or even steel, and is faced with a plated layer'64 of a relatively soft, highly conductive material, such as purecopper, silver, aluminum, or gold, which will tend to cold-flow withthose materials commonly used for electrical conductors. Copper platingis preferred for use with a copper metallic strip. The plated layer isshown only in FIG. 2 where its thickness is greatly ex aggeratedrelative to the size of the grid plates, it being understood that theplating is optional and could be provided in any of the otherembodiments.

The sleeve itself may be of any desired material. Ordinarily it is madeof a fairly hard material, such as beryllium-copper alloy, because it isneeded for support.

The use of the embodiment of FIG. 1 should be evident from the drawings.The grids are placed Within the sleeve, and the tape is placed betweenthe grids to assume the initial condition shown in FIG. 2. Then thesleeve is deformed by applying a compression tool, such as a pair ofpliers adapted for the purpose, to deform the top surface of the sleeve,thereby transmitting force to the grids to force them together. Theresulting interaction is best illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Thoseportions of the tapes elsewhere than between points of intersection ofthe crests move within the troughs, as shown in FIG. 6, so that theinsulation is not cut except at these intersections. It will usually befound advantageous to make the spacing between crests greater in oneplate than in the other, as shown in FIG. 6, in order to better providefor a place for the uncut portions of the tape to move into withouthaving to substantially stretch the tape.

The reaction at the points of intersection is best shown at FIG. 7,where it will be seen that the insulating cover has been squeezed to oneside by the intersecting crests, and then high pressure has beenconcentrated at the points of intersection to cause a cold-weldingfusion between the crests at their intersections and the metallicconduetor. The pressure exerted at the individual points is quite high,because the setting force is transmitted to a comparatively small numberof regions of small area. The high pressures form an effectivecold-welded joint. In fact, the joint between the grid plates andthemetallic strip is strong enough that the use of a surrounding sleeve isoptional in this invention. However, the grid plates are ordinarilyquite small, and the sleeve will usually be used to assure that theconnection does not come apart.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 operates in the same manner as that of FIGS.1-3, grid plate 61 being substituted for grid plate 25.

The device of FIGS. 21-22 is set as shown in FIG. 23 by deforming one ofthe sides of the rectangular portion, such as side 160 in FIG. 23,thereby forcing the threads of face 158 toward the threads of face 159to carry out the same connecting action as in the other embodiments.Alternately, both faces could be so deformed.

In the terminal block of FIGS. 8-18, the various connectors arephysically spaced apart from each other so that there will be noshort-circuiting between them. However, in'some installations, it may befound desirable to place a strip of insulation between the two plateswhen the terminal block is assembled. Such installation may, forexample, be a strip of polyethylene material, coextensive with theadjacent faces of the plates. This strip will not substantially changethe spatial relationship between the various parts, but will serve toinsert between the connectors an insulating layer, should additionalassurance of non-short-circuiting be desired.

This invention thereby provides simple means for quickly andeflioaciously making a good electrical connection with the metallicstrips in electrical conductors, and further provides means for gauginga plurality of them into a convenient terminal block.

This invention is not to be limited by the embodiments shown in thedrawings anddescribed in the description which are given by way ofexample and not of limitation, but only in accordance with the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A conductive connection comprising: an electrical conductor of theclass wherein a conductive metallic strip is enclosed by an insulatingcover; and a pair of metallic grid plates, each plate having a pluralityof parallel striations in one face thereof, said striations being formedas troughs having bounding shoulders, a plurality of crests formed byadjacent shoulders, said crests being of substantial length, and thecrests of each plate lying in the same respective plane, whereby theconductor may be sandwiched between the grid plates with said facesagainst it and with the striations of the two plates disposed so as tocriss-cross each other, whereby when the plates are forced toward eachother, the crests simultaneously displace portions of the insulatingcover and simultaneously contact the metallic strip by pressure betweenthe grid plates and strip, causing cold-welding between them to form aconductive contact at the points where the striations cross.

2. A conductive connection according to claim 1 in which said crests areconvexly curved. A

3. A conductive connection according to claim 2 in which each of thestriations extends between two edges of the respective plates.

4. A conductive connection according to claim 2 in which the spacingbetween crests is the same on both plates.

5. A conductive connection according to claim 2 in which the spacingbetween crests is greater on one plate than on the other.

6. A conductive connection according'to claim 1 which includes means forholding the grid plates in contact with the metallic strip.

7.-A conductive connection according to claim 1 in which a deformablesleeve surrounds the grid plates and that portion of the conductor towhich the grid plates are to be attached, whereby force applied to thesleeve deforms the same to press the grid plates into contact with themetallic strip and the sleeve serves thereafter to hold the plates incontact with the conductor.

8. A conductive connection according to claim 6 in which said crests areconvexly curved.

9. A conductive connection according to claim 7 in which said crests areconvexly curved.

10. A conductive connection according to claim 9 in which each of thestriations extends between two edges of the respective plates.

11. A conductive connection according to claim 9 in which the spacingbetween crests is greater on oneplate than on the other.

12. A connector for making conductive engagement with an electricalconductor of the class wherein a conductive metallic strip is enclosedby an insulating cover, comprising: a deformable sleeve; a pair ofmetallic grid plates within said sleeve, each having a face facing theother grid plate, each of said faces having a plurality of parallelstriations extending continuously across the plate, all of saidstriations being formed in their respective faces as troughs havingbounding shoulders, a plurality of crests formed by adjacent shoulders,said crests being of substantial length, and the crests of each platelying in the same respective plane, the plates being so disposed andarranged that the striations of the plates criss-cross to form aplurality of points of intersection, whereby, with the tape between saidsurfaces, the sleeve may be de formed to force the plates toward eachother, so that the crests simultaneously displace portions of theinsulating cover at said points of intersection and simultaneouslycontact the metal strip to cold-weld therewith and there form conductivecontacts, the sleeve thereafter serving to hold the grid plates inplace.

13. A connector according to claim 12 in which said crests are convexlycurved.

14. A connector according to claim 13 in which each of the striationsextends between two edges of the respective plates.

15. A connector according to claim 13 in which the spacing betweencrests is the same on both plates.

16. A terminal block for making conductive engagement with an electricaltape of the class wherein a conductive metallic strip is enclosed by aninsulating cover, comprising: a first and a second plate joinedtogether, each having a face adjacent the other, said faces havingrecesses therein which are staggered relative to each other; an abutmenton said faces opposite each recess of the opposite face;said plateshaving a passage connecting the outside of the plate and each recess forpassing the conductor to the recess; a deformable sleeve in each of saidrecesses; a pair of metallic grid plates in said sleeve, each grid platehaving a face facing the other grid plate, each of said faces having apluralityof parallel striations extending continuously between two edgesof the plate, all of said striations being formed in their respectivefaces as troughs having bounding shoulders, shoulders of adjacentstriations being interconnected by crests, the highest portion of eachcrest of each plate lying in a common plane, the plates being sodisposed and arranged that the'striations of the plates intersect toform a plurality of points of intersection, whereby, with the tapebetween said surfaces, the sleeve may be deformed to force the platestoward each other, so that the crests displace the insulating cover andcontact the metal strip to cold-weld therewith and form conductivecontacts when the crests cross, the sleeve serving to hold the gridplates in place, and the plates serving to hold the sleeves in place.

17. A terminal block according to claim 16 in which each plate has anopening therethrough to each recess to provide access to the sleeve fora tool to deform the sleeve. 7

18. A terminal block according to claim 17 in which a terminal tail isconnected to one of the grids in each 7 sleeve, which passes through theterminal block to pro- 2,788,508 vide a terminal connection. 2,939,9052,962,919 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 5 1,625,485 Maurer Apr. 19, 1927 765,751 2,749,383 Pigman et a1.June 5, 1956 1,070,302

8 Buchanan Apr. 9, 1957 Canfield June 7, 1960 Grundmann et a1. Dec. 6,1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 9, 1957 Germany Dec. 3, 1959

1. A CONDUCTIVE CONNECTION COMPRISING: AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR OF THECLAS WHEREIN A CONDUCTIVE METALLIC STRIP IS ENCLOSED BY AN INSULATINGCOVER; AND A PAIR OF METALLIC GRID PLATES, EACH PLATE HAVING A PLURALITYOF PARALLEL STRIATIONS IN ONE FACE THEREOF, SAID STRIATIONS BEING FORMEDAS TROUGHS HAVING BOUNDING SHOULDERS, A PLURALITY